New Delhi: A Delhi Police constable on Wednesday filed a criminal defamation case in a court in New Delhi against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for referring to policemen as 'thulla', a slang, during his recent interview.

Arvind Kejriwal. File pic

The complaint was filed by a constable, posted at Govind Puri police station here, in which he has claimed that he was insulted by Kejriwal's remark. "...Using a derogatory and demeaning term like 'thulla' to refer to police personnel is equivalent to referring to all Delhi Police officials as lethargic and unproductive. This word has, therefore, harmed the reputation of the complainant in the eyes of general public including his family, relative and friends," the plea filed by constable Harvinder said.

The complaint further said that Kejriwal has intentionally insulted the entire Delhi Police force 'as a whole and caused unnecessary provocation to police personnel in Delhi'.

"Being in a constitutional position as chief minister of Delhi, the capital of India, Arvind Kejriwal has immense influence and reach across the public space and his words impact the public view of Delhi Police. Therefore, by using such a derogatory and insulting word 'Thulla' to refer to police personnel, he has crossed all limits of decency," the plea filed through advocate L N Rao said.

The petitioner also claimed that he has lodged a complaint with the Commissioner of Police, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and with Govind Puri police station under section 504 (insult intended to provoke breach of peace) of IPC on July 19.

He said that Kejriwal's interview, which was telecast by a TV channel on July 17, had mentally hurt him due to which he suffered from hypertension and dizziness. The petitioner requested the court to summon Kejriwal for the alleged offence under section 500 (defamation) and 504 of IPC.

In his recent interview, Kejriwal had talked about the AAP government's 'constraints' in ensuring effective functioning of the Anti-Corruption Branch. Police Commissioner B S Bassi had also hinted his displeasure over the use of word 'thulla' by Kejriwal.